Tom Berry should be celebrating his second Magic Millions Classic win but admits the controversial protest has taken some of the gloss off his achievement.
The 20-year-old jockey rode Driefontein who was promoted from second after her Gai Waterhouse-trained stablemate No Looking Back, ridden by Nash Rawiller, was found to have shifted out in the final strides of Saturday’s $2 million race at the Gold Coast.
Berry asked to see video footage after the race but was reluctant to protest until chief steward Wade Birch said if he did not, stewards would.
The stewards panel voted unanimously to uphold the objection giving Berry victory to go with last year’s win on Karuta Queen.
Television footage of Waterhouse talking with both her stable jockeys before the race has come under scrutiny.
“Gai wanted me to be 100 per cent confident I could win the protest,” Berry told Sky Racing.
“Nash was the first one to shake my hand when the protest was upheld.
“Nash is very good mate.
“It was hard because the owners of No Looking Back are good supporters of mine.
“But it came down to the owners of my horse and in the end I made the right decision for my owners.”
Driefontein is raced by a syndicate put together by Denise Martin’s Star Thoroughbreds while No Looking Back’s major owner is Sydney businessman Nick Vass.
Waterhouse said she felt for the owners of No Looking Back but was looking forward to getting both fillies to the Golden Slipper in April.
“I felt so sorry for them but great joy for Denise and Driefontein,” she said.
“You can’t do anything about it. That’s life and we move on.
“I’ve always said they are both Golden Slipper material and both are very exciting fillies.”
The day was soured further for Rawiller when he was suspended for his winning ride on the Waterhouse-trained Kontiki Park in the Stayer’s Cup.
Rawiller’s ban for careless riding begins after he rides Atomic Force in Saturday’s Group One Telegraph Handicap at Trentham in New Zealand.
The Darren Smith trained gelding won the the first leg of New Zealand’s summer Group One sprint double, the Railway, at Ellerslie on New Year’s Day.
The suspension rules Rawiller out of a return to New Zealand the following week to ride Warhorse in the $1 million Karaka Million race.
AAP TURF
